Art of baking.



No. 874,279. PATENTBD DBG. 17, 1907. A. P. ANDERSON.

ART 0F BAKING.

APPLIOATIN FILED JULY 19.1902.

J'YJ.

y ALEXANDER. PIERCE ANDERSON, O1" NEW YORK, N. Y.

ART OF BAKING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1907.

Application led July 19. 1902. Serial No. 116.279.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER PIERCE ANDER-SON, a citizen. of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the county and State oi' New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Baking; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descri` tion oi' the invention, such as will enab e others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the art of baking rodu'cts from dough made of cereal meal or llour, such as bread, biscuits, crackers, cakes, and the like.

The object of this invention is to produce articles of this character in such a manner that the starch contained in the same will be rendered more readily assimilableand digestible than in the articles of bakery as hitherto manufactured, thereby rendering such bakery products more nutritious.

Under the processes as hitherto practiced, the dough prepared from'cereal flour or meal prior to baking, is generally raised or .rendered spongy or porous by the actlon of a leaven, yeast, or similar ferment, or other means of introducing or generating ases in its interior, and thenbaked; or the' ough is left in its solid uncellular condition before baking. In the iirst case, ordinary bread or cake of more or less spongy structure is produced after the raised dough has remained Vin the oven or other heating chamber for a suitable length of time. In the latter case, a hard product which is not spongy is obtained after baking. Or the unleavened dough is simply dried, as in the case of macaroni, spaghetti and the like. j ucts it will be found, on microscopic examination, that the starch-granules of the flour or meal of which the article of bakery was repared, have remained intact and-have not been broken 11 in their structure. This renders the stare contained in these roducts permeable only with ditliculty by t 1e saliva and gastric juices, and not sufficiently exposed to the action of the enzymes on which digestion dpends. This objection .ap lies to all portions of the bread or every artic e of bakery, except the browned crust of the same. This crust, however, does not represent starch, but, rather, carbonized decomposed products of the saine, and caramelized products of the ingredients of the cereal flour or meal employed.

In all of these prod- In my Patent-N0. 707,892, dated August 26, 1902, I have described a process of treating starch-material, whereby the starch-` granules of the material are broken up and thus rendered permeable to saliva and gastric juices by the action of heat and iressure, and the subsequent sudden removal of such pressure. In my further researches and investigations in connection with this subject, I have found that ordinary unleavened dough made of farinaceous or cereal flour or meal, such as wheat, rye, buckwheat, and other fleurs or corn, oat and other meals, may be rendered extremely spongy and porous in texture concurrently with baking the same, by first drying it in the air, or, if by artificial heat, in such a manner as to leave all or a portion of the li uid contained in the granules ofithe starc in the dou h, and then treating in a manner similar to t at employed in the patent Aabove referred to. Bread or other articles of bakery resulting romthis treatment or method of bakin present aporous 0rv spongy mass, genera ly resembling ordinary toasted bread or zwieback in texture, but differing therefrom in its internal structure by that the starch-granules throughout the body thereof are thoroughly broken u and obliterated so as to produce a fine pow er forming a constituent of the cellwalls of the finished product. This product vis, therefore, much more readily digestible and assimilable than articles of bakery as hitherto made. x

Another important advantage resulting from the use of my new method resides in the fact that I obtain'a mass of cereal food which is as porous and spongy as, and, in-

deed, in most cases, more spongy than, the

best products of the baking industry, without the use of any yeast, leavens, or ferments,

'or the mechanical introduction of carbon It is also well-known that when using yeast,

leavens or ferments, that a great portion of the starch and other ingredients of the flour or meal used inmaking the dough, is consumed to sup ort -the growth of the fun i or bacteria whic form the active princip e of the yeast or ferment, and also, to form the.

A with the processes in which unleavened dough is baked, since, as has been ascertained by investigation in this'direction, the pores or cells which occur in the products of bakery from unleavened dough, such as crackers, Passover bread, biscuits, andthe like, are probably due to spontaneous or auto-fermentation started by bacteria, or ferments which are accidentally resent in the lour, or which have been intro uced into the dough from the air, and which bacteria must feed upon the dough-material to grow and to generate the carbon dioxid.

Some of the characteristics distinguishing bakery products made under my invention, under which term I include any 4product made from dough by baking, such as bread, cake, biscuits, crackers, rolls, and the like, are the following: In bal;ers bread the walls or lining of the pores or cavities are made up of a mechanical niixture of gluten, cellulose walls (ber) and carbohydrates, etc. The carbohydrates are composed mainly of starch in the form of granules. These granules are not changed physically to any extent whatever. In some cases a partial swelling of the granule has taken place (a swelling due to the presence of water mixed with the dough) but the granules are all, or substantially all, not obliterated beyond recognition with the microscope. The same is true not only in the crumb or inside of the bakers bread, but of the crust as well. In the crust where tbe material has been browned or earamelized, the chemical changes have been greater, but even in this case the starch-granules which `\.ave been thus changed can after baking. be recognized with the microscope.- In bread, made according to my process, when a complete "baking and expansion has taken place therev are no intact starch-granules left either in the peripheral or inner portions of the expanded roducts. In all cases, the starch-granules ave been completely broken up or obliterated substantially throughout theY mass, the starch being left in a finely powdered condition. The same is true of iscuit, and, especially, in the biscuits or crackers as sold at present where the percentage of starch is much greater than in bakers bread. Biscuits, made according to my invention, have substantially no recognizable starch-granules' in them. Hard, dried dough-products like macaroni, spaghetti, etc., can be swelled by my method and made ready to be eaten without further treatment. i

Bread made according to my invention is also more minutely cellular or porous than substantial bakers bread. Ordinary commercial biscuits are', of course, not porous or spongy like ordinary bakers bread. Biscuits made according to my invention diler from biscuits or crackers as hitherto made also in their being more spongy or porous. In fact, bakery products made as heretofore do not present a cellular structure in the true sense of the word, but contain cavities rather than cells. In a bakery product made according `to my invention the starch-granules are substantially all destroyed, disrupted or broken up beyond recognition, and the minute fragments are fused together with the gluten aleurone matter to form the new product in the sha e of cell-walls, which are now a soluble an entireljr assimilable form of starch. In the old bak( .-y-products the Walls of the cavities are made up of a com aratively coarse heterogeneous mechanica mixture of intact starchgranules, aleurone grains, etc., readily recognizable under the microscope, the starch being substantially unchanged in all but the outer portions of the product. lVlien the products made under my invention are mixed with water or saliva, the membranes or cell-walls break down and are emulsiied, and ordinary chemical starch tests now show that substantially all of the original insoluble starch has been converted`into soluble starch. This is not the case with any of the bakery products hithereto made, in which only a very small ercentage of the starch can be thus modifie It is to this difference that bakery products made under my invention owe their readily digestible and assimilable qualities.

Another advantage of the bakery products prepared according to my invention is that they are absolutely sterile and dry and may be kept for long periods of time, particularly by reason of the surface glaze with wliicl'i these products are coated as a result of my process. Finally, my method enables me to make bread from any desired mixture of cereal flours, '11. e., composite bread.

To carry out the objects and to attain the advantages above outlined, my invention consists essentially in heating air-dried dough made from farinaceous materials or comminuted cereal, for example, flour, meal or the like, or dough dried so as to retain all or a art of the moisture in the starch-granu es, above the boiling point of water, preferably between 125 and 175 C., under pressure, and after the same has thus been heated for a sufficient length of time, suddenly reducing or removing the pressure. As soon as the pressure has been suddenly reduced under these circumstances, it will be found that the entire mass is suddenly' expanded into a dry and porous or spongv mass, having the characteristics abme state My invention also consists in the new article of bakery products, namely, one presenting al cellular mass and having `the starchgranules therein broken up or disintegrated into powder-form and forming part of the i other features, details and methods as `will be hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

Proceeding now to a detailed description of my invention I desire to state that the same may be carried out in a great variety of ways an includes a great range of startingmaterials containing starch. A number of examples of what I consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention willl now be given reference being had to the accompanying` drawing which represents three examples of apparatus which'may be em ployed in carrying out my invention.

In this drawing Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a sealed glass tube which may be employed in carrying out my process, Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of a metal cylinder or tube for the same purpose, and Fig. 3, a similar section of another metal vessel for carrying out the said process.

Example 1 Bread from wheat flour dough'.- I make a tenacious dough from wheat flour by adding 'water to 1t. i This dough is worked by kneading until it becomesof the consistency and tenacity of bakers dough before the baking.. The dough is now worked into sticks or blocks of any desired sizes which are allowed to dry for a day or more until they become substantially airdried. Wet dough dries slowly at the ordinary temperature. 'I therefore, preferably place the sticks or blocks on a slowly-heated asbestos plate for six hours, during which time they are kept at 'a temperature of from 40 to 50"- C. At this temperature the starch-granules are not chan ed in their structure nor broken up.v At t e end of the six hours slight heating, the dough sticks or blocks are generally hard and brittle, resembling sticks of macaroni or spaghetti in color and hardness. They are 'then laced in glass or iron tubes or receivers, sucb as described in my aforesaid Patent No. 707,892, and is shown at A, Fig. 1, and at C, Fig. 2, of the drawing, and then such tubes are closed or sealed hermetically and then subjected to a bakin temperature by heating them in the oven lor 20 minutes from 100 to 175 C. The tubes are now taken out and, before cooling, are broken or opened suddenly, as explained in my` aforesaid Patent No. 707,892'. The dried dough will thereby be immediately expanded or swelled to from two to four times its original volume, but, on account of the not uniformly dry dough, the

resulting bread masses are not uniformly porous. In order to attain a more perfect result, the dough sticks or blocks, treated'as from 120 to 165 C., take themv out of the oven, and before cooling, suddenly open or break the same. The result is a perfect and uniform mass of bread, which has been slightly over-heated, and, consequently, overbrowned. It is manifest that salt and other seasonings, accordin to taste, may be added to the flour in the a ove method of preparing the dough.

find that, the more erfectly the dough has been air-dried, and t e longer, and, consequently, more slowly the drying is carried out, the lower is the tem erature required. Thus good results will e obtained from dough, air-dried for about two weeks, by submitting it. to an oven-temperature of 160 C., for about 20 minutes in sealed vessels as above, and then, while still hot, suddenly opening the vessels. I discovered also that welldried dough can be uniformly swelled at a lower oven-temperature-say, 150 C.-by prolonging the heating to half an hour or 4 0 minutes, and then suddenly opening the sealed vessels containing the same before allowing the same to cool.

In Fig. 3 I have shown another form of apparatus which may be employed in carrying out my process and which has also been shown and described in my aforesaid patent. As shown, this a aratus consistsof a vessel E having a lid Fplinged at e and adapted to lbe clamped down upon the top of the receiver E by the screw clamp consisting of the hinged arm e/ carrying at its upper end the screw e2 which, when the parts are in place, as indicated in Fig. 3, may be turned sulficiently to bear down upon the li'd F, all as described in the aforesaid atent, a ring or gasket f of yielding materia which will resist the heat to which the vessel is subjected, being preferably interposed between the lid and the top of the receiver to bring about the air-tight joint required.

Example 2: Bread from rice jlom' dough- I prepare a dough from rice liour and pass it through the same process as above with wheat flour dou h. This rice-flour dough when air-dried a so expands into a porous mass when the pressure is suddenly released or reduced when the pressure'is sufficiently high, but, on account of the small percentage of gluten in rice-flour, it is difficult to make a dry dough from it which will not crumble when dried. The resulting rice-Hour bread made from such dried dough according to my process, however, does not crumble. l

Example 4 8: Spaghetti or Macaroni-I take ordinary commercial air-dried spaghetti sticks and then subject them to baking temperature by heating them in sealed tubes, as

above, in the oven gradually from 100 C. to in the dough may also in some instances, be

17 5C. After the heating I take the tubes out and before any cooling has taken place, break them. The spaghetti will expand to about four times their original diameter and increase correspondingly in length, becoming an enlarged copy of the original. The expanded spaghetti are porous and bread-like, and have the appearance of Ordinar bread, especially dry toasted bread, .or t 1e form usually sold under the name of zwiebac The results may be obtained from air-. noodles, and

dried macaroni, vermicelli, similar products.

Spaghetti is simply a dried wheat ilour dough and has approximately the samepercentage of starch and gluten as ordinar wheat lour. In the dryin process to whic the spaghetti is subjecte when made, no heating whatever is applied to it; at any rate not high enou l1 to alter the composition and structure of t 1e starch-granules, gluten and other compounds. The starch therefore expands or explodes when the pressure is released at the end of the above period of heating in sealed vessels, and causes a swelling of the whole spaghetti stick, converting it into bread or a product similar in taste, to the crust of ordinary bread, differing from it mainly in the fact that it is dry and contains no intact starch-granules or starch-granules as such. When sections of this bread-like mass were examined under the microscope all the starch-granules were found to have been broken up.

Exam le 4: Conversion of ordinary bake-rs bread.- may take the crumb or inside of,

ordinary bakers bread, and, after thoroughly air-drying the same, subject it to my process thereby obtaining a product similar to the above. Soggy or heavy doughy bread, is particularly suitable for this urpose and may be kneadedl up into a oughy form prior to applying my process. `The result is a spongy, dry and readilydigestible article, such as produced under Examples 1 to 3.

All-of the bakeryroducts made under my process substantia ly retain the shape of the original dry dough; they have a surface glaze entirely coverin them and consisting of dry hydrated starc 1 which is suiiciently impermeable to maintain them in a sterile and dry condition for a considerable length of time.

It will be noted from the above that, while it is preferable to 'introduce the dough into" in excess of the amount of water contained in the starch-granules in anair-dry condition, but such moisture must not be suiiicient to break u or macerate the starch-granules during the eating process, in which case, no expansion would follow from a sudden removal or reduction of the pressure. factthat such latit/ilde in both directionslis allowed under my invention, without departin from 'the gist of the same, I have expresse in the clalms b the term "substantially air-dry. It is a so to be noted that a certain amount of moisture or vapor in the gas pressing upon the material, above the The amount necessary for saturation, will not prevent the result above describedrom being obtained. However, it is preferable to Work with an absolutely dry gas, such as air, that is, one whose amount of water is not above the saturation point. the term pressure in the claims I desire to be understood as coveringV a dry pressure, such for example, -as gas or air ressure, or anypressure approximating suc Idry pressure so nearly as'to bring about my result, though perhaps in a less degree.

The temperature of the oven may vary be- In employing tween wide limits, for example, between 120 C. to 200 C., but the vessels containing the material to be treated should be removed when the material within them reaches substantially from 150 to 165 C., which will be generally speaking, also the temperature of the containing-vessels. The pressures-corresponding to the above temperatures would vary, the best results being obtained at pressures between 90 to 125 pounds to the square inch. The vessels should then be lmmcdiately opened suddenly, since the most perfect expansion depends on a sudden release of the pressure on the material -while it is in its hottest condition, and before any cooling has taken place, and, on the other hand, to maintain the material at the highest temperature for any considerable length of time under pressure would result in browning the said material and caramelizing the su ar and starch contained in it to an undesira le extent.

I find that the temperatures given in the examples are the proper 'baking temperatures, and that, when such temperatures are maintained for the time periods given throughout the mass of the material in rocess of baking, which condition can readi y be secured by properly selecting the sizes, thickness and dimensions of the containing-vessels, very satisfactory results are obtained and the dough is converted into porous" the above undesirable results take place at even lower temperatures and at lower pressures than above given, and, in connection with the temperature of say-150 to 165 C., would be apt to brown the material to an undesirable extent by caramelizing the sugar and starch.

vsalt and other seasonings.

When large iron cylinders from four to eight inches in diameter are employed for inclosing the doudh, the time necessary for heating these cylinders and the contents to the proper point at the oven-temperatures given, may vary from half an hourto an hour. v

The above directions as to the extent and time which it is necessary to heat the dough products may be summarized in the statement that the air-dried dough is subjected to a baking temperature until the starch-granule liquid attains the degree of pressure at which steam will be formed when the pressure on the dough is removed.

The pressure must be reduced withsuch suddenness as to produce the explosive effect described on the starch-granules. The nearer the reduction of pressure can be brought to instantaneous, the better, although there is here also a certain latitude as to degree of suddenness, with` which the pressure is re-l duced or relieved, may be allowed. In construing the term suddenly reducing the pressure, as employed in the claims, it is therefore, to be understood that any rapidity of reduction of pressure which will result in the explosive effect described, is comprehended under said term. Of course, it yisto be understood that the term suddenly reducing the pressure is broad enough to include the complete removal of the same, as well as a partial reduction; and is to be so understood wherever employed in the claims. The nearer this reduction approaches a complete removal of the pressure, the better the results will be in general.

Instead of heating theair-dried dough in sealed molds or vessels the same result can be accomplished by compressing heated air, either normal or saturated with steam in sealed chambers or vessels containing the air-dried dough. When the desired time, pressure and temperature have been reached, these chambers or vessels are l suddenly opened, the dry dough now swells into bread, which is porous like ordinary bread, differing from it essentially in that it is dry and contains no intact starch-granules.

Resuming briefly, the process when proceeding from the flour to the finished bakery product comprises the following steps:

1st. I take ordinary cereal iiour or meal and add water or other liquid, and, if desired, Then work and knead the dough formed by any convenient or suitable method until it becomes uni- .g formly tenacious and of the consistency of bakers dough.

2nd, Then form the doughinto any desired shaped masses, preferably thin sheets, sticks or tubes, and dry these in the air at the ordinary temperature, or dry them at a low temperature not exceeding 75 C. Other methods of drying may be desirable, for example, drying in vacuum pans oiuin rarefied and dryair,'it being observed in all cases that the resultant article is to be substantially air-dry, that .is to say, in a condition in which all or a substantial part of the hygroscopic moisture of the starch-granules remains therein.

3rd. When substantially air-dried, as

above, the resultant hard and brittle masses are heated under ressure to the baking temperature and aiter the'baking is completed thispressure is suddenly reduced, which reduction may go to the extent of an entire removal of the pressure. This pressure may be produced by placing them into molds or vessels which are sealed and then placed into an oven having a temperature of between 120 to 200 C., and then taking out the molds and without cooling, and while still hot, suddenly opening them.

Obviously and as alreadyl stated and shown, it is not necessary, in order to carry out my invention, to prepare and dry the dough, but, it is within the scope of my invention to use Valready dried dough and submit it to a baking temperature under pressure, and then suddenly remove the pressure.

Of course, it is to be understood that the term "dough as em loyed in the specifica? loo only ordinary dough as prepared prior to making bakery articles,`but, also, in ,its dried shape, such,for example, as macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli, noodles, and similar thin masses or strips, and also incompletely or insufliciently baked bread, which is in reality composed in part of dough. All of these will result in my new product when treated according to my invention, as I have shown in the above examples. Y

The new product resultingfrom my process has the/ following characteristics: The

starch-granules substantially throughout the same have been disrupted or broken up into extremely minute particles. These particles, or remains ofthe starchanules, are contained in the cell-walls of t e porous or cellular structure of the Afinished product, togetber with the gluten and other debris.

the roducts is readily broken down and emullsiied by water or saliva, and ordinary chemical starch tests showthat the starch is now in the form of Hsoluble starc The The new cellular structure thus formed in new bakery products also have a surface Y glaze of hydrated st archy matter which seals the entire surface a ainst the admission of moisture to the interior. The new products, moreover, retain substantially the shape of the original dried/dough mass, but are greatly mcreased in volume, thus presenting a cellular porous co y of the original product cn an enlar ed sca e, and are distinguished therefrom a so by being baked and having their entire surface sealed with a glazing practically impervious to moisture.

Having thusl fully describedmy invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: .L 1. In the art of baking, thev rocess which consists in heating dried doug and permitting the sudden gasification of the liquid in the starch granules, whereby the starch granules are disru ted.l

2. In the art of akin the process which consists in submitting dry the starch-granules still retain their liquid to a baking temperature under pressure, and then suddenly reducing the pressure.

3. In the art of baking, the process which consists in baking 'substantlally' airdry `dough under pressure, and thereupon suddenly reducing or removm the pressure.

4. In theart of baking, t e processwhich consists iii baking thin masses of substantially airdry dough under pressure, and thereu on suddenly reducing the pressure. 5. T e process whichconsists in. treating dough until substantially 'all of the moisture contained in the same, exce t the liquid .or water contained in the starc -granules is removed, then ba the ,same at a heat above the boiling pomt .under pressure, and

then suddenly reducing the pressure.

6. In the art of baking, the process which consists in drying do'ugh in the form of thin masses until the same forms a dry and unbaked mass, then heating the same above the boiling oint of water under pressure,

and then su denlyreducin the pressure.

7. In the art of baking, te process which consists in drying dough in the form of-thin masses until the same forms a dry, brittle and unbaked mass, then heating the same above the. boiling point of Water, under pressure, and then suddenly reducing the pres- Sure.

9. Asa new article of manufacture, a

dough in which bakery product formed from comminuted cerealin which vthe starchanules have been disrupted substantially t oughout the mass. a

10. A. bakery product, consisting of a spon y, baked mass made from comminuted cerea wherein the starch-granules have beenl disrupted substantially throughout the mass. 11. A bakery product, consist' f of a spongy or cellular baked mass ma e from comminuted cereal wherein the starch-4 granules have been disrupted* substantially throughout the mass, the remains ofsaid granu es forming part of the walls of the cells of the roducts..

12. A ba ery product, consisting of. a'

sterile spongy or cellular baked mass made l from comminuted cereal in which the starchgranules have been disrupted substantially throu hout the mass, the remains of'said granu es forming part pf the cell-walls'of the product. I

14. An artificial food product formed from comminuted cereal and 'consisting of a 'porous riable mass of starch 4material in which substantially all the starch-granules have been disrupted.

A15. An articial food product formed from comminuted cereal and consistin of a porous friable `mass of starch material in which substantially all the starch-granules have been disrupted, the remains of said granules forming part' of the cell-walls of the product. Y

16. A bakery product consisting of a cellular baked mass made from comminuted cereal wherein the cell-walls are formed of disrupted starch granules fused together with gluten aleurone matter,said cell-walls being emulsifiable in water or saliva.'

17. An artificial food product formed from comminuted -cereal and consisting of a porous mass of starch material inwhich sub-V stantially all the starchv granules have been disrupted.- l

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER PIERCE ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

JOHN K. SMALL, y GUNTHER K. ACKERMAN, Jr. 

